- Julie Barris | Crisis Counselor | Therapist-in-Training
- Jun 21
Children are not always able to explain their emotions. For those experiencing trauma, anxiety, grief, or developmental delays, expressing inner experiences verbally can feel impossible. But long before children can speak fluently, they draw. They dance. They make sounds. Creativity is their first language.
Expressive art therapy taps into this natural mode of communication. It allows children to explore thoughts and feelings using symbolic expression—offering them a way to feel seen and heard without needing to “say” anything. Whether it’s a child who survived abuse, a teen coping with divorce, or a neurodivergent child struggling to regulate emotions, art becomes a safe bridge between the inner world and the outer one.
The Healing Power of Creativity
The idea that creativity heals isn’t new. As early as World War I, doctors observed that traumatized soldiers expressed more through drawing than through words. These insights laid the foundation for art therapy, formally developed in the mid-20th century by pioneers like Adrian Hill, a British artist who coined the term art therapy in 1942 after discovering the therapeutic benefits of painting while recovering from tuberculosis.
In the U.S., Margaret Naumburg, often called the “mother of art therapy,” emphasized the importance of free expression and unconscious imagery in healing emotional distress. Working with children and adolescents in schools and psychiatric settings, Naumburg believed art could access what words could not—especially in youth who had experienced early relational trauma.
Modern expressive art therapy builds on this legacy. Creative practices like drawing, sculpture, storytelling, and movement help children externalize inner conflicts. Through play and imagery, they can reclaim control, express buried feelings, and reconstruct personal narratives with a sense of agency.
It’s Not About the Picture—It’s About the Process
A common misconception is that expressive art therapy is about creating something beautiful or skillful. But in therapy, the focus isn’t on aesthetics—it’s on the process. A child’s torn paper collage may reflect their experience of family separation. Aggressive brushstrokes might symbolize internalized anger or fear. Even an absence of color can say something powerful.
This process-focused approach is rooted in the work of Edith Kramer, another foundational figure in art therapy. Unlike Naumburg, who leaned toward psychoanalytic interpretations, Kramer emphasized art-making itself as a healing act, especially for children. She observed that children’s spontaneous creativity had therapeutic value, independent of verbal discussion.
Today, therapists trained in this modality pay close attention to how a child engages with materials—Are they tentative or bold? Do they crumple or preserve their work? These actions, and not just the final product, inform the therapeutic conversation.
Science Backs the Brushstrokes
Research continues to validate what early art therapists intuited: expressive art works. A 2019 study published in The Arts in Psychotherapy found that art therapy significantly reduced trauma symptoms in children exposed to domestic violence. Expressive art therapy has also proven effective for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Nonverbal children often find it easier to engage with therapists through drawing or music, which creates a non-threatening space for connection. In hospitals, art therapy helps children coping with chronic illness process fear and physical pain. In schools, it supports emotional learning and behavior management.
What’s unique about expressive arts is their ability to meet a child exactly where they are. Unlike talk therapy, which relies on verbal maturity, expressive therapy welcomes silence, mess, and metaphor.
Parents Often Say: ‘I Had No Idea They Felt That Way’
One of the most profound impacts of expressive art therapy is how it fosters understanding between children and the adults in their lives. A child might not say, “I feel abandoned,” but might draw a house with no doors. A child grieving a parent may create repeated images of dark shapes or invisible figures.
These artworks become tools—not for interpretation like dream analysis, but for empathic inquiry. When parents are shown their child’s work with gentle guidance, they often experience an emotional breakthrough. They see past the tantrums or silence and into the emotional truth of their child’s experience.
This reflective dialogue can be life-changing. It not only helps the child feel heard and validated but also gives parents insight into how to emotionally attune and respond more effectively.
From Scribbles to Strength: Building Emotional Literacy
Expressive art therapy is not only about healing past wounds—it also builds lifelong emotional skills. Children learn to name their feelings (“This red blob feels like my anger”), to recognize emotional triggers, and to develop healthy coping strategies. This emotional literacy strengthens self-esteem and social functioning.
For example, in one school-based art therapy program, children created masks representing “what I show the world” and “what I feel inside.” This exercise opened space for powerful discussions about shame, vulnerability, and belonging. For children who often feel misunderstood, being able to see their feelings on paper helps validate their internal experiences.
Over time, these practices increase a child’s resilience—the ability to bounce back from adversity with insight and strength. The skills developed in therapy often translate into better communication at home, more emotional regulation in the classroom, and improved relationships with peers.
Are We Really Seeing What They’re Trying to Show Us?
Children often speak in metaphor, symbol, and play. Their art is a window into their world—a world that’s complex, emotional, and often overlooked. Yet in a fast-paced society focused on test scores, diagnoses, and outcomes, their creative expressions are sometimes dismissed as “just play” or “just scribbles.”
But what if those scribbles are a scream for connection? A silent plea for safety? A story waiting to be heard?
Are we truly paying attention—not just to what children are saying, but to what they are drawing, building, and creating? Because in the space between brushstrokes and fingerpaints, there just might be a way back to trust, healing, and hope.
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